A few different models/hypotheses, which I don't think are incongruent with one another and in some cases are mutually supportive:
1. Incongruity theory of humor. This one is not my own, but rather a pretty widely held theory of humor which I think largely checks out. It basically says humor is the experience of having your mental patterns subverted. This checks out with the classic joke archetype: the comic sets us up to expect one thing, then hits us with another. This has also been recast as the incongruity-resolution theory, involving the introduction of incongruous ideas followed by their resolution. I wonder if this take may be better expressed as uncertainty resolution though. This would play interestingly with the model of the brain as a prediction-making machine and Karl Friston's idea of reducing free energy (uncertainty) as the imperative of self-organizing systems (like us humans).
2. Signal of harmlessness/play. This touches on your second one, as it's an evolutionary biology perspective. There are a couple different variations here. One is as a signal to communicate to others of one's social group that something that seemed harmful is actually harmless. For example, you're terrified as you come across a shadowy tiger-like figure in the dark, only to realize it's a tiger shaped rock (unlikely, I know), so you burst out laughing in relief, signaling to your hunter-gatherer boys that "It's all good." This one also ties in with the uncertainty resolution model from above. On the play side, play is a way of practicing for fighting and hunting. If you're not signaling otherwise, it could look like the real thing and suddenly someone is taking it waaayyyy too seriously. Laughter acts as a signal that play is in fact play. Everyone then knows it's play, no one takes it too far, and others around aren't worried that something bad is going down. Play has been found to be a developmentally critical activity, so it would be no surprise that it has its own signaling mechanism.
3. Laughter as mechanism for neural annealing. Here's a brief overview of the theory of neural annealing if you're interested: https://qualiacomputing.com/2019/11/29/neural-annealing-toward-a-neural-theory-of-everything/. Roughly, the theory involves the proposition that in certain high energy states the brain "heats up" and becomes more malleable and then cools down to its resting temperature in the form it has been reshaped to, like clay. In the case of the brain, more malleable means more capable of learning. Psychedelics are one proposed vehicle to these annealing-enabling high energy states, which is why they're such potent agents of change in the mind. Meditation is another. I wonder if this process might be happening to some extent when we laugh, and in other states where we experience a similar feeling of warmth, openness, and energy. By laughing, we bring the brain into a higher energy state, increasing the entropy of the system and thus increasing its malleability. If laughter does help promote learning (and there are some experimental results pointing to this), it would be useful in the context of the other models I've mentioned here. Play is an important developmental tool, so expediting learning in this process would be of great benefit. Perhaps more significantly, if our mental models are being violated when we laugh, as the incongruity theory suggests, then it's important that we be as capable of learners as possible in that moment so that we can update our models appropriately. If laughter is inducing neural annealing, then it would be aiding in that updating process.
4. Social bonding tool. Laughter is a means of fostering social cohesion.
5. Trait for sexual selection. A good sense of humor is often seen as a critical trait in a partner, especially for men to appeal to women. Perhaps it helps to demonstrate intelligence, perspective taking, desire to please others, and confidence (which is often a proxy for status).
One of the reasons I applied for the pending ODCC fellowship is so that I can more easily make courses that use examples from culture to explore topics such as comedy and humor.
Laughter is a clue to comedy and humor. As you note, laughter is a social signal. Among other things, it signals "some mental or social models are being disrupted" or "there's mental or social ambiguity or disruption here."
Humans also laugh:
- out of joy
- out of extreme pleasure
- to mock
- out of schadenfreude
- when someone is being bullied
- when a bully is being bullied
- when someone makes a discovery or happens upon loot
- out of anxiety (as you note)
- out of self-deprecating self-recognition ("haha - I fell for that trick again") - similar to what you note
- when social boundaries are observed to be transgressed (think Borat movies)
- when there is transgression of someone's vulnerabilities / tendernesses / "volatilities" (this is a metaphor I'm applying from software architecture) (think "The Three Stooges" when Moe is poking Curley's eyes)
Please note that courtship makes for rife conditions for many of these events to occur - thus rom coms.
Shakespeare's "comedies" often will depict gender bending and usually end in a marriage.
What might tie all of these together is: "Here is an ambiguous event or an opportunity for loot / plunder / free sh*t."
As social animals, we hoot and holler when there's free sh*t to be scooped up OR the potential for the same.
In sum, humor and laughter either alert us or signal:
- that mental or social models are not quite fitting, and that a possible "hinge event" is in the offing, such as an alliance or a potential blow-up or an outright fight
- in which case, new allegiances may need to be chosen, or a fight will need to be entered,
OR
- that there has been a a discovery ("Eureka!"), or other loot to be scooped up (maybe a buffalo kill), or a victory to be celebrated (also a sign of impending loot), or there might be loot to be scooped up after an potential impending fight or as a result of the new alliance (such as a marriage)
This is a alpha version on humor and laughter. I'm an amateur cultural critic/sociologist/anthropologist.
A few different models/hypotheses, which I don't think are incongruent with one another and in some cases are mutually supportive:
1. Incongruity theory of humor. This one is not my own, but rather a pretty widely held theory of humor which I think largely checks out. It basically says humor is the experience of having your mental patterns subverted. This checks out with the classic joke archetype: the comic sets us up to expect one thing, then hits us with another. This has also been recast as the incongruity-resolution theory, involving the introduction of incongruous ideas followed by their resolution. I wonder if this take may be better expressed as uncertainty resolution though. This would play interestingly with the model of the brain as a prediction-making machine and Karl Friston's idea of reducing free energy (uncertainty) as the imperative of self-organizing systems (like us humans).
2. Signal of harmlessness/play. This touches on your second one, as it's an evolutionary biology perspective. There are a couple different variations here. One is as a signal to communicate to others of one's social group that something that seemed harmful is actually harmless. For example, you're terrified as you come across a shadowy tiger-like figure in the dark, only to realize it's a tiger shaped rock (unlikely, I know), so you burst out laughing in relief, signaling to your hunter-gatherer boys that "It's all good." This one also ties in with the uncertainty resolution model from above. On the play side, play is a way of practicing for fighting and hunting. If you're not signaling otherwise, it could look like the real thing and suddenly someone is taking it waaayyyy too seriously. Laughter acts as a signal that play is in fact play. Everyone then knows it's play, no one takes it too far, and others around aren't worried that something bad is going down. Play has been found to be a developmentally critical activity, so it would be no surprise that it has its own signaling mechanism.
3. Laughter as mechanism for neural annealing. Here's a brief overview of the theory of neural annealing if you're interested: https://qualiacomputing.com/2019/11/29/neural-annealing-toward-a-neural-theory-of-everything/. Roughly, the theory involves the proposition that in certain high energy states the brain "heats up" and becomes more malleable and then cools down to its resting temperature in the form it has been reshaped to, like clay. In the case of the brain, more malleable means more capable of learning. Psychedelics are one proposed vehicle to these annealing-enabling high energy states, which is why they're such potent agents of change in the mind. Meditation is another. I wonder if this process might be happening to some extent when we laugh, and in other states where we experience a similar feeling of warmth, openness, and energy. By laughing, we bring the brain into a higher energy state, increasing the entropy of the system and thus increasing its malleability. If laughter does help promote learning (and there are some experimental results pointing to this), it would be useful in the context of the other models I've mentioned here. Play is an important developmental tool, so expediting learning in this process would be of great benefit. Perhaps more significantly, if our mental models are being violated when we laugh, as the incongruity theory suggests, then it's important that we be as capable of learners as possible in that moment so that we can update our models appropriately. If laughter is inducing neural annealing, then it would be aiding in that updating process.
4. Social bonding tool. Laughter is a means of fostering social cohesion.
5. Trait for sexual selection. A good sense of humor is often seen as a critical trait in a partner, especially for men to appeal to women. Perhaps it helps to demonstrate intelligence, perspective taking, desire to please others, and confidence (which is often a proxy for status).
Dear Erik,
One of the reasons I applied for the pending ODCC fellowship is so that I can more easily make courses that use examples from culture to explore topics such as comedy and humor.
Laughter is a clue to comedy and humor. As you note, laughter is a social signal. Among other things, it signals "some mental or social models are being disrupted" or "there's mental or social ambiguity or disruption here."
Humans also laugh:
- out of joy
- out of extreme pleasure
- to mock
- out of schadenfreude
- when someone is being bullied
- when a bully is being bullied
- when someone makes a discovery or happens upon loot
- out of anxiety (as you note)
- out of self-deprecating self-recognition ("haha - I fell for that trick again") - similar to what you note
- when social boundaries are observed to be transgressed (think Borat movies)
- when there is transgression of someone's vulnerabilities / tendernesses / "volatilities" (this is a metaphor I'm applying from software architecture) (think "The Three Stooges" when Moe is poking Curley's eyes)
Please note that courtship makes for rife conditions for many of these events to occur - thus rom coms.
Shakespeare's "comedies" often will depict gender bending and usually end in a marriage.
What might tie all of these together is: "Here is an ambiguous event or an opportunity for loot / plunder / free sh*t."
As social animals, we hoot and holler when there's free sh*t to be scooped up OR the potential for the same.
In sum, humor and laughter either alert us or signal:
- that mental or social models are not quite fitting, and that a possible "hinge event" is in the offing, such as an alliance or a potential blow-up or an outright fight
- in which case, new allegiances may need to be chosen, or a fight will need to be entered,
OR
- that there has been a a discovery ("Eureka!"), or other loot to be scooped up (maybe a buffalo kill), or a victory to be celebrated (also a sign of impending loot), or there might be loot to be scooped up after an potential impending fight or as a result of the new alliance (such as a marriage)
This is a alpha version on humor and laughter. I'm an amateur cultural critic/sociologist/anthropologist.
Best,
Dan